Known for his stroke-making skills and less for a temperament to stick around, Jermaine Blackwood made a gritty 95 that defied expectations as the West Indies beat England by four wickets in the first Test at Southampton on Sunday.
The West Indies, set 200 to win on the last day, were reeling at 27/3 after England fast bowler Jofra Archer’s early double strike.
Blackwood, however, held firm until, in sight of just his second Test century, he drove England stand-in captain Ben Stokes to James Anderson at mid-off, with the visitors needing just 11 more runs to win.
But John Campbell, forced to retire hurt on one after being struck on the toe by Archer, returned to hit the winning runs.
West Indies captain Jason Holder, the world’s top-ranked Test all-rounder ahead of Stokes, was 14 not out.
The match was a personal and tactical triumph for Holder, who took a Test-best 6-42 in England’s lowly first innings 204 after Stokes, leading the side in the absence of Joe Root, won the toss and batted.
Although they hold the Wisden Trophy, the West Indies have not won a Test series in England for 32 years.
But this victory put them 1-0 up with two to play in a behind-closed-doors series ahead of next week’s second Test at Old Trafford. It was a thoroughly deserved success for the West Indies, who went ahead with their tour despite more than 44,000 deaths in Britain from the coronavirus during the pandemic.
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